Safety

The US National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a 10-member team to investigate fatal late night crash of a Bombardier Learjet 60 (N999LJ) after a runway overrun accident Friday on departure from the Columbia Metropolitan Airport in West Columbia, South Carolina.

According to an NTSB spokesman, the aircraft with two pilots had deadheaded in from Teterboro before attempting to depart Runway 11 at Columbia’s airport around midnight for a Part 135 flight to Van Nuys. The aircraft is registered to Inter Travel and Services in Irvine, California but was operated by Global Exec Aviation in Long Beach, said the spokesman. The NTSB confirmed that the two pilots and two of the four passengers were killed.

©Brett Flashnick / AP

The aircraft crashed through an airport fence before crossing a road and coming to rest against a berm.Local news stations had confirmed that the two surviving passengers, Travis Barker, former drummer for the rock band Blink-182 and Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, had performed as part of a concert in the Columbia area Friday evening. Witnesses have reported that the plane was on fire before coming to rest against the berm. The Pratt & Whitney Canada PW305A-powered twin-jet received its airworthiness certificate in December 2006, according to FAA records.